<p>Tokyo: Japan will downgrade its description of ties with China from "one of its most important" in an annual diplomatic report, according to a draft reviewed by <em>Reuters</em>, as relations with Beijing worsen.</p><p>The 2026 Diplomatic Bluebook, which Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is expected to approve next month, will instead describe <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/china">China</a> as an important neighbour and the relationship as "strategic" and "mutually beneficial."</p><p>The draft cites a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year, including export controls on rare earths, radar lock-ons targeting Japanese military aircraft and increased pressure around Taiwan.</p><p>The shift in tone underscores a deterioration in ties that has become entrenched since November, when Takaichi angered Beijing by saying that Japan could deploy its military if a Chinese move against neighbouring Taiwan also threatened its territory.</p>.China launches military drills around Taiwan amid tensions with Japan.<p>Beijing responded by reimposing restrictions on Japanese seafood imports, urging its citizens to avoid travel to Japan and announcing curbs on rare earths and critical minerals used in electronic components. </p><p>Takaichi has said her remarks were in line with a decade-old security law, while a report by US intelligence agencies last week said she had sharply departed from the rhetoric of previous Japanese leaders. Her government rejected that assessment.</p><p>In a speech to parliament last month, Takaichi warned of Chinese "coercion" and mounting economic and security threats posed by Beijing and its regional partners Russia and North Korea. </p><p>During a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Takaichi at the White House on Thursday, Tokyo and Washington unveiled a joint action plan to develop alternatives to China for critical minerals and rare earths supply chains.</p>
<p>Tokyo: Japan will downgrade its description of ties with China from "one of its most important" in an annual diplomatic report, according to a draft reviewed by <em>Reuters</em>, as relations with Beijing worsen.</p><p>The 2026 Diplomatic Bluebook, which Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is expected to approve next month, will instead describe <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/china">China</a> as an important neighbour and the relationship as "strategic" and "mutually beneficial."</p><p>The draft cites a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year, including export controls on rare earths, radar lock-ons targeting Japanese military aircraft and increased pressure around Taiwan.</p><p>The shift in tone underscores a deterioration in ties that has become entrenched since November, when Takaichi angered Beijing by saying that Japan could deploy its military if a Chinese move against neighbouring Taiwan also threatened its territory.</p>.China launches military drills around Taiwan amid tensions with Japan.<p>Beijing responded by reimposing restrictions on Japanese seafood imports, urging its citizens to avoid travel to Japan and announcing curbs on rare earths and critical minerals used in electronic components. </p><p>Takaichi has said her remarks were in line with a decade-old security law, while a report by US intelligence agencies last week said she had sharply departed from the rhetoric of previous Japanese leaders. Her government rejected that assessment.</p><p>In a speech to parliament last month, Takaichi warned of Chinese "coercion" and mounting economic and security threats posed by Beijing and its regional partners Russia and North Korea. </p><p>During a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Takaichi at the White House on Thursday, Tokyo and Washington unveiled a joint action plan to develop alternatives to China for critical minerals and rare earths supply chains.</p>